- But the government held that the plan was meant to help the authorities curb cybercrime

- High Court judge Justice John Mativo agreed with Cofek on the matter

The government's plan to spy on Kenyans through their mobile service providers, Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya, has hit a snag after Hight Court on Thursday, April 19, ruled such a move will be illegal and unconstitutional.

The Court consequently blocked the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the telecom industry regulator, from implementing the daring plan.

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The regulator had penned a letter to Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya seeking to use their network systems to snoop on Kenyans's mobile phones and private affairs in the name of tracking criminals.

The CA's Director General Francis Wangusi argued the government had been forced to adopt the radical counter-measure in the wake of increased proliferation of counterfeit devices and incidents of cybercrime in the country.